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Chapter 14

Destruction of Sodom

[This chapter is based on Genesis 19.]

Fairest among the cities of the Jordan Valley was Sodom,
set in a plain which was "as the garden of the Lord" in its
fertility and beauty. Here the luxuriant vegetation of the tropics
flourished. Here was the home of the palm tree, the olive, and
the vine; and flowers shed their fragrance throughout the year.
Rich harvests clothed the fields, and flocks and herds covered the
encircling hills. Art and commerce contributed to enrich the
proud city of the plain. The treasures of the East adorned her
palaces, and the caravans of the desert brought their stores of
precious things to supply her marts of trade. With little thought
or labor, every want of life could be supplied, and the whole year
seemed one round of festivity.

The profusion reigning everywhere gave birth to luxury and
pride. Idleness and riches make the heart hard that has never
been oppressed by want or burdened by sorrow. The love of
pleasure was fostered by wealth and leisure, and the people gave
themselves up to sensual indulgence. "Behold," says the prophet,
"this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of
bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters,
neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And
they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me: therefore
I took them away as I saw good." Ezekiel 16:49, 50. There
is nothing more desired among men than riches and leisure, and
yet these gave birth to the sins that brought destruction upon the
cities of the plain. Their useless, idle life made them a prey to
Satan's temptations, and they defaced the image of God, and
became satanic rather than divine. Idleness is the greatest curse
that can fall upon man, for vice and crime follow in its train.
It enfeebles the mind, perverts the understanding, and debases
the soul. Satan lies in ambush, ready to destroy those who are

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unguarded, whose leisure gives him opportunity to insinuate
himself under some attractive disguise. He is never more successful
than when he comes to men in their idle hours.

In Sodom there was mirth and revelry, feasting and drunkenness.
The vilest and most brutal passions were unrestrained. The
people openly defied God and His law and delighted in deeds of
violence. Though they had before them the example of the
antediluvian world, and knew how the wrath of God had been manifested
in their destruction, yet they followed the same course of
wickedness.

At the time of Lot's removal to Sodom, corruption had not
become universal, and God in His mercy permitted rays of light
to shine amid the moral darkness. When Abraham rescued the
captives from the Elamites, the attention of the people was called
to the true faith. Abraham was not a stranger to the people of
Sodom, and his worship of the unseen God had been a matter
of ridicule among them; but his victory over greatly superior
forces, and his magnanimous disposition of the prisoners and
spoil, excited wonder and admiration. While his skill and valor
were extolled, none could avoid the conviction that a divine
power had made him conqueror. And his noble and unselfish
spirit, so foreign to the self-seeking inhabitants of Sodom, was
another evidence of the superiority of the religion which he had
honored by his courage and fidelity.

Melchizedek, in bestowing the benediction upon Abraham,
had acknowledged Jehovah as the source of his strength and the
author of the victory: "Blessed be Abram of the most high God,
possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God,
which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand." Genesis
14:19, 20. God was speaking to that people by His providence,
but the last ray of light was rejected as all before had been.

And now the last night of Sodom was approaching. Already
the clouds of vengeance cast their shadows over the devoted city.
But men perceived it not. While angels drew near on their mission
of destruction, men were dreaming of prosperity and pleasure.
The last days was like every other that had come and gone. Evening
fell upon a scene of loveliness and security. A landscape of
unrivaled beauty was bathed in the rays of the declining sun.
The coolness of eventide had called forth the inhabitants of the

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city, and the pleasure-seeking throngs were passing to and fro,
intent upon the enjoyment of the hour.

In the twilight two strangers drew near to the city gate. They
were apparently travelers coming in to tarry for the night. None
could discern in those humble wayfarers the mighty heralds of
divine judgment, and little dreamed the gay, careless multitude
that in their treatment of these heavenly messengers that very
night they would reach the climax of the guilt which doomed
their proud city. But there was one man who manifested kindly
attention toward the strangers and invited them to his home.
Lot did not know their true character, but politeness and
hospitality were habitual with him; they were a part of his
religion--lessons that he had learned from the example of Abraham.
Had he not cultivated a spirit of courtesy, he might have been left
to perish with the rest of Sodom. Many a household, in closing
its doors against a stranger, has shut out God's messenger, who
would have brought blessing and hope and peace.

Every act of life, however small, has its bearing for good or
for evil. Faithfulness or neglect in what are apparently the smallest
duties may open the door for life's richest blessings or its
greatest calamities. It is little things that test the character. It
is the unpretending acts of daily self-denial, performed with a
cheerful, willing heart, that God smiles upon. We are not to live
for self, but for others. And it is only by self-forgetfulness, by
cherishing a loving, helpful spirit, that we can make our life a
blessing. The little attentions, the small, simple courtesies, go far
to make up the sum of life's happiness, and the neglect of these
constitutes no small share of human wretchedness.

Seeing the abuse to which strangers were exposed in Sodom,
Lot made it one of his duties to guard them at their entrance, by
offering them entertainment at his own house. He was sitting at
the gate as the travelers approached, and upon observing them,
he rose from his place to meet them, and bowing courteously, said,
"Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's
house, and tarry all night." They seemed to decline his hospitality,
saying, "Nay; but we will abide in the street." Their object in
this answer was twofold--to test the sincerity of Lot and also to
appear ignorant of the character of the men of Sodom, as if they
supposed it safe to remain in the street at night. Their answer

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made Lot the more determined not to leave them to the mercy
of the rabble. He pressed his invitation until they yielded, and
accompanied him to his house.

He had hoped to conceal his intention from the idlers at the
gate by bringing the strangers to his home by a circuitous route;
but their hesitation and delay, and his persistent urging, caused
them to be observed, and before they had retired for the night, a
lawless crowd gathered about the house. It was an immense
company, youth and aged men alike inflamed by the vilest passions.
The strangers had been making inquiry in regard to the character
of the city, and Lot had warned them not to venture out of
his door that night, when the hooting and jeers of the mob were
heard, demanding that the men be brought out to them.

Knowing that if provoked to violence they could easily break
into his house, Lot went out to try the effect of persuasion upon
them. "I pray you, brethren," he said, "do not so wickedly,"
using the term "brethren" in the sense of neighbors, and hoping
to conciliate them and make them ashamed of their vile
purposes. But his words were like oil upon the flames. Their rage
became like the roaring of a tempest. They mocked Lot as making
himself a judge over them, and threatened to deal worse with
him than they had purposed toward his guests. They rushed
upon him, and would have torn him in pieces had he not been
rescued by the angels of God. The heavenly messengers "put
forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut
to the door." The events that followed, revealed the character of
the guests he had entertained. "They smote the men that were
at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so
that they wearied themselves to find the door." Had they not
been visited with double blindness, being given up to hardness of
heart, the stroke of God upon them would have caused them to
fear, and to desist from their evil work. That last night was
marked by no greater sins than many others before it; but mercy,
so long slighted, had at last ceased its pleading. The inhabitants
of Sodom had passed the limits of divine forbearance--"the hidden
boundary between God's patience and His wrath." The fires
of His vengeance were about to be kindled in the vale of Siddim.

The angels revealed to Lot the object of their mission: "We
will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great
before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy

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it." The strangers whom Lot had endeavored to protect, now
promised to protect him, and to save also all the members of his
family who would flee with him from the wicked city. The mob
had wearied themselves out and departed, and Lot went out to
warn his children. He repeated the words of the angels, "Up, get
you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city." But he
seemed to them as one that mocked. They laughed at what they
called his superstitious fears. His daughters were influenced by
their husbands. They were well enough off where they were.
They could see no evidence of danger. Everything was just as it
had been. They had great possessions, and they could not believe
it possible that beautiful Sodom would be destroyed.

Lot returned sorrowfully to his home and told the story of his
failure. Then the angels bade him arise and take his wife and the
two daughters who were yet in his house and leave the city. But
Lot delayed. Though daily distressed at beholding deeds of
violence, he had no true conception of the debasing and abominable
iniquity practiced in that vile city. He did not realize the terrible
necessity for God's judgments to put a check on sin. Some of
his children clung to Sodom, and his wife refused to depart without
them. The thought of leaving those whom he held dearest on
earth seemed more than he could bear. It was hard to forsake his
luxurious home and all the wealth acquired by the labors of his
whole life, to go forth a destitute wanderer. Stupefied with
sorrow, he lingered, loath to depart. But for the angels of God, they
would all have perished in the ruin of Sodom. The heavenly
messengers took him and his wife and daughters by the hand and led
them out of the city.

Here the angels left them, and turned back to Sodom to
accomplish their work of destruction. Another--He with whom
Abraham had pleaded--drew near to Lot. In all the cities of
the plain, even ten righteous persons had not been found; but in
answer to the patriarch's prayer, the one man who feared God
was snatched from destruction. The command was given with
startling vehemence: "Escape for thy life; look not behind thee,
neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest
thou be consumed." Hesitancy or delay now would be fatal. To
cast one lingering look upon the devoted city, to tarry for one
moment from regret to leave so beautiful a home, would have

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cost their life. The storm of divine judgment was only waiting
that these poor fugitives might make their escape.

But Lot, confused and terrified, pleaded that he could not
do as he was required lest some evil should overtake him and
he should die. Living in that wicked city, in the midst of
unbelief, his faith had grown dim. The Prince of heaven was by
his side, yet he pleaded for his own life as though God, who had
manifested such care and love for him, would not still preserve
him. He should have trusted himself wholly to the divine
Messenger, giving his will and his life into the Lord's hands without
a doubt or a question. But like so many others, he endeavored to
plan for himself: "Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and
it is a little one: O, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?)
and my soul shall live." The city here mentioned was Bela,
afterward called Zoar. It was but a few miles from Sodom, and,
like it, was corrupt and doomed to destruction. But Lot asked that
it might be spared, urging that this was but a small request; and
his desire was granted. The Lord assured him, "I have accepted
thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city,
for the which thou hast spoken." Oh, how great the mercy of God
toward His erring creatures!

Again the solemn command was given to hasten, for the fiery
storm would be delayed but little longer. But one of the fugitives
ventured to cast a look backward to the doomed city, and she
became a monument of God's judgment. If Lot himself had
manifested no hesitancy to obey the angels' warning, but had earnestly
fled toward the mountains, without one word of pleading or
remonstrance, his wife also would have made her escape. The
influence of his example would have saved her from the sin that
sealed her doom. But his hesitancy and delay caused her to lightly
regard the divine warning. While her body was upon the plain,
her heart clung to Sodom, and she perished with it. She rebelled
against God because His judgments involved her possessions and
her children in the ruin. Although so greatly favored in being
called out from the wicked city, she felt that she was severely
dealt with, because the wealth that it had taken years to accumulate
must be left to destruction. Instead of thankfully accepting
deliverance, she presumptuously looked back to desire the life of
those who had rejected the divine warning. Her sin showed her

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to be unworthy of life, for the preservation of which she felt so
little gratitude.

We should beware of treating lightly God's gracious provisions
for our salvation. There are Christians who say, "I do not care
to be saved unless my companion and children are saved with
me." They feel that heaven would not be heaven to them without
the presence of those who are so dear. But have those who cherish
this feeling a right conception of their own relation to God, in
view of His great goodness and mercy toward them? Have they
forgotten that they are bound by the strongest ties of love and
honor and loyalty to the service of their Creator and Redeemer?
The invitations of mercy are addressed to all; and because our
friends reject the Saviour's pleading love, shall we also turn
away? The redemption of the soul is precious. Christ has paid
an infinite price for our salvation, and no one who appreciates
the value of this great sacrifice or the worth of the soul will despise
God's offered mercy because others choose to do so. The very fact
that others are ignoring His just claims should arouse us to greater
diligence, that we may honor God ourselves, and lead all whom
we can influence, to accept His love.

"The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into
Zoar." The bright rays of the morning seemed to speak only
prosperity and peace to the cities of the plain. The stir of active
life began in the streets; men were going their various ways,
intent on the business or the pleasures of the day. The sons-in law
of Lot were making merry at the fears and warnings of the
weak-minded old man. Suddenly and unexpectedly as would be a thunder
peal from an unclouded sky, the tempest broke. The Lord
rained brimstone and fire out of heaven upon the cities and the
fruitful plain; its palaces and temples, costly dwellings, gardens
and vineyards, and the gay, pleasure-seeking throngs that only
the night before had insulted the messengers of heaven--all were
consumed. The smoke of the conflagration went up like the smoke
of a great furnace. And the fair vale of Siddim became a desolation,
a place never to be built up or inhabited--a witness to all
generations of the certainty of God's judgments upon transgression.

The flames that consumed the cities of the plain shed their
warning light down even to our time. We are taught the fearful
and solemn lesson that while God's mercy bears long with the
transgressor, there is a limit beyond which men may not go on in

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sin. When that limit is reached, then the offers of mercy are
withdrawn, and the ministration of judgment begins.

The Redeemer of the world declares that there are greater sins
than that for which Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Those
who hear the gospel invitation calling sinners to repentance, and
heed it not, are more guilty before God than were the dwellers
in the vale of Siddim. And still greater sin is theirs who profess
to know God and to keep His commandments, yet who deny
Christ in their character and their daily life. In the light of the
Saviour's warning, the fate of Sodom is a solemn admonition,
not merely to those who are guilty of outbreaking sin, but to all
who are trifling with Heaven-sent light and privileges.

Said the True Witness to the church at Ephesus: "I have
somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and
do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and
will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
Revelation 2:4, 5. The Saviour watches for a response to His offers
of love and forgiveness, with a more tender compassion than that
which moves the heart of an earthly parent to forgive a wayward,
suffering son. He cries after the wanderer, "Return unto Me,
and I will return unto you." Malachi 3:7. But if the erring
one persistently refuses to heed the voice that calls him with
pitying, tender love, he will at last be left in darkness. The heart
that has long slighted God's mercy, becomes hardened in sin, and
is no longer susceptible to the influence of the grace of God. Fearful
will be the doom of that soul of whom the pleading Saviour
shall finally declare, he "is joined to idols: let him alone." Hosea
4:17. It will be more tolerable in the day of judgment for the
cities of the plain than for those who have known the love of
Christ, and yet have turned away to choose the pleasures of a
world of sin.

You who are slighting the offers of mercy, think of the long
array of figures accumulating against you in the books of heaven;
for there is a record kept of the impieties of nations, of families,
of individuals. God may bear long while the account goes on, and
calls to repentance and offers of pardon may be given; yet a time
will come when the account will be full; when the soul's decision
has been made; when by his own choice man's destiny has been
fixed. Then the signal will be given for judgment to be executed.

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There is cause for alarm in the condition of the religious
world today. God's mercy has been trifled with. The multitudes
make void the law of Jehovah, "teaching for doctrines the commandments
of men." Matthew 15:9. Infidelity prevails in many
of the churches in our land; not infidelity in its broadest sense--an
open denial of the Bible--but an infidelity that is robed in the
garb of Christianity, while it is undermining faith in the Bible
as a revelation from God. Fervent devotion and vital piety have
given place to hollow formalism. As the result, apostasy and sensualism
prevail. Christ declared, "As it was in the days of Lot,
. . . even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is
revealed." Luke 17:28, 30. The daily record of passing events testifies
to the fulfillment of His words. The world is fast becoming
ripe for destruction. Soon the judgments of God are to be poured
out, and sin and sinners are to be consumed.

Said our Saviour: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time
your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness,
and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of
the whole earth"--upon all whose interests are centered in this
world. "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be
accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass,
and to stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:34-36.

Before the destruction of Sodom, God sent a message to Lot,
"Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in
all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed."
The same voice of warning was heard by the disciples of Christ
before the destruction of Jerusalem: "When ye shall see Jerusalem
compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is
nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains."
Luke 21:20, 21. They must not tarry to secure anything from
their possessions, but must make the most of the opportunity to
escape.

There was a coming out, a decided separation from the wicked,
an escape for life. So it was in the days of Noah; so with Lot; so
with the disciples prior to the destruction of Jerusalem; and so it
will be in the last days. Again the voice of God is heard in a
message of warning, bidding His people separate themselves from
the prevailing iniquity.

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The state of corruption and apostasy that in the last days
would exist in the religious world, was presented to the prophet
John in the vision of Babylon, "that great city, which reigneth
over the kings of the earth." Revelation 17:18. Before its destruction
the call is to be given from heaven, "Come out of her, My
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive
not of her plagues." Revelation 18:4. As in the days of Noah and
Lot, there must be a marked separation from sin and sinners.
There can be no compromise between God and the world, no
turning back to secure earthly treasures. "Ye cannot serve God
and mammon." Matthew 6:24.

Like the dwellers in the vale of Siddim, the people are dreaming
of prosperity and peace. "Escape for thy life," is the warning
from the angels of God; but other voices are heard saying, "Be
not excited; there is no cause for alarm." The multitudes cry,
"Peace and safety," while Heaven declares that swift destruction
is about to come upon the transgressor. On the night prior to
their destruction, the cities of the plain rioted in pleasure and derided
the fears and warnings of the messenger of God; but those
scoffers perished in the flames; that very night the door of mercy
was forever closed to the wicked, careless inhabitants of Sodom.
God will not always be mocked; He will not long be trifled with.
"Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and
fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners
thereof out of it." Isaiah 13:9. The great mass of the world
will reject God's mercy, and will be overwhelmed in swift and
irretrievable ruin. But those who heed the warning shall dwell
"in the secret place of the Most High," and "abide under the
shadow of the Almighty." His truth shall be their shield and
buckler. For them is the promise, "With long life will I satisfy
him, and show him My salvation." Psalm 91:1, 4, 16.

Lot dwelt but a short time in Zoar. Iniquity prevailed there
as in Sodom, and he feared to remain, lest the city should be
destroyed. Not long after, Zoar was consumed, as God had purposed.
Lot made his way to the mountains, and abode in a cave,
stripped of all for which he had dared to subject his family to the
influences of a wicked city. But the curse of Sodom followed him
even here. The sinful conduct of his daughters was the result of
the evil associations of that vile place. Its moral corruption had

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become so interwoven with their character that they could not
distinguish between good and evil. Lot's only posterity, the
Moabites and Ammonites, were vile, idolatrous tribes, rebels
against God and bitter enemies of His people.

In how wide contrast to the life of Abraham was that of Lot!
Once they had been companions, worshiping at one altar, dwelling
side by side in their pilgrim tents; but how widely separated
now! Lot had chosen Sodom for its pleasure and profit. Leaving
Abraham's altar and its daily sacrifice to the living God, he had
permitted his children to mingle with a corrupt and idolatrous
people; yet he had retained in his heart the fear of God, for he
is declared in the Scriptures to have been a "just" man; his righteous
soul was vexed with the vile conversation that greeted his
ears daily and the violence and crime he was powerless to prevent.
He was saved at last as "a brand plucked out of the fire"
(Zechariah 3:2), yet stripped of his possessions, bereaved of his
wife and children, dwelling in caves, like the wild beasts, covered
with infamy in his old age; and he gave to the world, not a race
of righteous men, but two idolatrous nations, at enmity with
God and warring upon His people, until, their cup of iniquity
being full, they were appointed to destruction. How terrible were
the results that followed one unwise step!

Says the wise man, "Labor not to be rich: cease from thine
own wisdom." "He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own
house; but he that hateth gifts shall live." Proverbs 23:4; 15:27.
And the apostle Paul declares, "They that will be rich fall into
temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts,
which drown men in destruction and perdition." 1 Timothy 6:9.

When Lot entered Sodom he fully intended to keep himself
free from iniquity and to command his household after him. But
he signally failed. The corrupting influences about him had an
effect upon his own faith, and his children's connection with the
inhabitants of Sodom bound up his interest in a measure with
theirs. The result is before us.

Many are still making a similar mistake. In selecting a home
they look more to the temporal advantages they may gain than to
the moral and social influences that will surround themselves and
their families. They choose a beautiful and fertile country, or
remove to some flourishing city, in the hope of securing greater

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prosperity; but their children are surrounded by temptation, and
too often they form associations that are unfavorable to the
development of piety and the formation of a right character. The
atmosphere of lax morality, of unbelief, of indifference to religious
things, has a tendency to counteract the influence of the parents.
Examples of rebellion against parental and divine authority are
ever before the youth; many form attachments for infidels and
unbelievers, and cast in their lot with the enemies of God.

In choosing a home, God would have us consider, first of all,
the moral and religious influences that will surround us and our
families. We may be placed in trying positions, for many cannot
have their surroundings what they would; and whenever duty
calls us, God will enable us to stand uncorrupted, if we watch
and pray, trusting in the grace of Christ. But we should not
needlessly expose ourselves to influences that are unfavorable to the
formation of Christian character. When we voluntarily place ourselves
in an atmosphere of worldliness and unbelief, we displease
God and drive holy angels from our homes.

Those who secure for their children worldly wealth and honor
at the expense of their eternal interests, will find in the end that
these advantages are a terrible loss. Like Lot, many see their
children ruined, and barely save their own souls. Their lifework
is lost; their life is a sad failure. Had they exercised true wisdom,
their children might have had less of worldly prosperity, but they
would have made sure of a title to the immortal inheritance.

The heritage that God has promised to His people is not in
this world. Abraham had no possession in the earth, "no, not so
much as to set his foot on." Acts 7:5. He possessed great substance,
and he used it to the glory of God and the good of his fellow
men; but he did not look upon this world as his home. The
Lord had called him to leave his idolatrous countrymen, with
the promise of the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession;
yet neither he nor his son nor his son's son received it.
When Abraham desired a burial place for his dead, he had to
buy it of the Canaanites. His sole possession in the Land of
Promise was that rock-hewn tomb in the cave of Machpelah.

But the word of God had not failed; neither did it meet its
final accomplishment in the occupation of Canaan by the Jewish
people. "To Abraham and his seed were the promises made."

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Galatians 3:16. Abraham himself was to share the inheritance.
The fulfillment of God's promise may seem to be long delayed--for
"one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8); it may appear to tarry; but at the
appointed time "it will surely come, it will not tarry." Habakkuk
2:3. The gift to Abraham and his seed included not merely the
land of Canaan, but the whole earth. So says the apostle, "The
promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to
Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness
of faith." Romans 4:13. And the Bible plainly teaches that
the promises made to Abraham are to be fulfilled through Christ.
All that are Christ's are "Abraham's seed, and heirs according
to the promise"--heirs to "an inheritance incorruptible, and
undefiled, and that fadeth not away"--the earth freed from the
curse of sin. Galatians 3:29; 1 Peter 1:4. For "the kingdom and
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole
heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most
High;" and "the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight
themselves in the abundance of peace." Daniel 7:27; Psalm 37:11.

God gave to Abraham a view of this immortal inheritance,
and with this hope he was content. "By faith he sojourned in the
Land of Promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles
with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder
and maker is God." Hebrews 11:9, 10.

Of the posterity of Abraham it is written, "These all died in
faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them
afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
Verse 13. We must dwell as pilgrims and strangers here if we
would gain "a better country, that is, an heavenly." Verse 16.
Those who are children of Abraham will be seeking the city
which he looked for, "whose builder and maker is God."